The night I almost died

Have you ever had those moments where you’re doing something normal, something routine and in the blink of an eye your normal and routine almost change for the rest of your life? Where you narrowly escape an accident?

That was me on my way to Los Angeles last Friday. Every event leading up was completely normal. I left home a little later then I intended. Stopped at the outlet mall to exchange a handbag, went to a Subway for dinner but their toaster was broken, so I drove to another Subway a mile down the road and got my sub. {it has to be toasted}

Got back on the freeway, its completely dark at this point, and eat my sub. Drop a piece of lettuce in my lap.. completely normal. Fish it out, ball up my wrapper and toss it on the floor on the passenger side. I called my mom up (don’t worry, I have a bluetooth) and we chatted for a few minutes about nothing.

And then I just drove. I didn’t feel like messing with music, I didn’t know the stations in the area I was driving through any way, so I left it off and stared straight ahead in silence as I drove 75mph in the fast lane.

I see something odd in the median way up ahead. I can’t quite make it out, its so dark, but I see what looks like the outline of a person. I couldn’t quite understand if what I was seeing was right, but as I got closer and closer, I saw a movement and realized it was in fact a person, dressed in all black.

Not just one person but 4. And they were starting to move very fast.

Reaction time is funny. I’m sure it was a fraction of a second from the time I gasped, realizing what they were doing, to the time I slammed on my brakes and laid on my horn, but it happened as if it were a movie, in slow motion.

The first 3 run as fast as their legs could take them across my lane and into the other two as they sprint across the freeway. But the 4th. The 4th didn’t clear the wall as fast as they did, and as I’m still slamming on my brakes to keep from killing the first 3, the 4th realizes he won’t make it, and jumps back behind the yellow line just in time coming within inches of my front bumper as I fly past him.

I can still see him jumping back from my SUV. Just as if the camera was on his feet, jumping behind the yellow line, its that clear to me just how close he came to getting killed… to killing me. After I passed, he took off running across the freeway to catch up with the other 3. I’m sure they thought it was the thrill of a lifetime. Running in dark clothes, on a dark night, in front of a bunch of speeding cars who are none the wiser.

But they put my life at risk. For a stupid thrill. My life!

What if I hadn’t given up texting while driving, and decided to text at that moment?
What if I was still eating my sub and that lettuce dropped in my lap and I went looking for it at that moment?
What if I was still talking to my mom distracted, or decided to search for a radio station at that moment?

The first 3 would have been dead instantly. I wouldn’t have slammed on my brakes and I wouldn’t have given them enough time to get out of the way of my speeding car, and most likely I would be dead because of the impact and no doubt losing control of the car after that.

I know I can play the ‘what if’ game all day long, but I’ve never in my wildest imagination (and its pretty wild the things I conjure up), think 4 stupid teenage boys would dare run in front of me at night, going 75mph.

I’m so eternally grateful, I had 100% of my attention on my driving and nothing else. God certainly, without a doubt, had His hand in that night and for my safety. It took about a mile before I began thinking normally and called the cops to report the boys. I doubted they’d hover where they did it, but I called any way in case they dared to do it again to other cars.

That night could have ended so differently for me.

If you’re driving, really think hard about those distractions. The text, phone call, food, music, and think if they’re really worth the risk. I hope no one else is stupid enough to risk running in front of you, but before Friday, I never thought it was a possibility.

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